Kenneth Faried (Photo : Getty Images)
The Golden State Warriors have emerged as a potential destination for Denver Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried.
The Nuggets continue to shop Kenneth Faried, who is becoming an awkward fit in Denver, with the team having plenty of other talented big men in their roster. With Nikola Jokic and Jusuf Nurkic continue to improve, the Nuggets may just decide to move on from Faried, who came from being a fan-favorite to becoming almost irrelevant for Denver.
According to Will Ryan of Sports Illustrated's Fansided, the Warriors could be one of the potential destinations for Faried.
"The Warriors lost a lot of depth on the front court to get Kevin Durant this offseason and could basically replace all of that with one simple move to get Faried. Faired is a consistent rebounder and pretty good rim defender in his own right, which is exactly what the Warriors need," Ryan wrote.
The Warriors could also use Faried's ability to protect the rim and anchor the team's interior defense. After trading Andrew Bogut and letting go of Festus Ezeli in the offseason, the Warriors could certainly look into adding another defensive big man who can replicate the outputs of Bogut and Ezeli on the defensive end.
Offensively, Faried also fits well playing the Warriors' brand of basketball. With most of the Warriors' scoring coming from the outside, Faried, who averaged 12.5 points and 8.7 rebounds for the Nuggets last season, would give Golden State a big man who can run on fastbreaks and finish at the rim.
However, trading for Faried would be costly for the Warriors, who do not have much assets to facilitate a deal for the 26-year-old forward. Faried still has three more years in his contract and is set to earn $12 million this season. This means the Warriors must move either Andre Iguodala or Klay Thompson to Denver, which Golden State won't probably consider.
Nevertheless, the Warriors could still look to improve their roster midseason, especially if their combination of stars would not yield them good results. If that happens, Faried seems a viable option for the Warriors, although any potential deal would likely require them to give up a player down the rotation.
Video courtesy: YouTube/DownToBuck
